Enthymeme (EN-thuh-meme):A figure of reasoning in which
one or more statements of a syllogism (a three-pronged deductive argument)
is/are left out of the configuration; an abbreviated
syllogism or truncated deductive argument in which one or more premises,
or, the conclusion is/are omitted. There are various kinds of syllogisms
and the formal treatment of them is rather technical. However, all syllogisms are
similar in that they contain at least three statements -- two premises
followed by a conclusion.

Ex1: - All humans are mortal.
(major premise)

- Michael is human. (minor premise)

- Michael is mortal. (conclusion)

The syllogism above would
be rendered an enthymeme simply by maintaining that "Michael is mortal because
he's human"(leaving out the major premise). Or put
differently, "Since all humans are mortal, Michael is therefore mortal" (leaving
out the minor premise). Statements may be strategically excluded in an
enthymeme because they are too obvious or because revealing them might
damage the force of the argument. Yet another reason to exclude a premise
or conclusion is to let the audience infer it. The idea here is that
audiences who have to draw out premises or conclusions for themselves are
more likely to be persuaded by the overall argument.

Ex2: - Those who study
rhetoric speak eloquently. (major premise)

- Susan studies rhetoric. (minor premise)

- Susan speaks eloquently. (conclusion)

The enthymeme here might do
well to exclude the conclusion and let the audience infer it if the goal
of the argument were to convince the audience that Susan speaks
eloquently.

Examples

"It is quite recent history,
Lord Randolph was Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Lord
Salisbury was Prime Minister, as he is now. And on this same issue of
economy Lord Randolph Churchill went down -- forever. But wise words,
Sir, stand the test of time. And his words were wise."